Since the times of early Greek and Roman history, American Indian civilization and the present era, hair braiding has always been an important aspect of professional and amateur hair styling. Patents which show tools and devices for hair braiding and hair styling include:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,017 to Terwilliger showing a clamp extension fixed along a comb back for the formation of braids and similar hair styles, where the clamp holds a hair section apart from other sections being braided but does not provide a means for clamping two or three hair strands to produce different braid types at the same time that the braid is tightly held;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,690 to Sopkus showing a gear operated hair braiding apparatus where strands of hair are placed in tubular members which are moved by pressure on a gear mechanism to produce only one type of hair braid;
U.S. Pat. No. 2,194,826 to Franco, et.al. showing a four pronged hairpin having a plurality of tines where the outer ends of the tines are compressed, inserted into the hair and released so that the tines spread apart and then Grasp the hair which is the opposite of the present invention where arms compress to grasp the hair, and, in addition, the hairpin cannot be used for hair braiding;
U.S. Pat. No. 1,252,936 to Noyes showing a four pronged hair pin where the outer prongs have waves that hold the hair pin in the hair but without any hair braiding abilities; and
U.S. Pat. No. 913,061 to Shaw showing a four pronged hair pin having inner prongs which spring back together after insertion to grip the hair between the prongs but without any hair braiding capacity.
No hair braiding device exists which allows the braider to not only produce a simple three strand braid but also French, fishtail and rope braids or any combination of these braids without having to hold and at the same time manipulate the needed hair strands. With the present invention Hair Braiding Device, the user can quickly and easily make a variety of braids with hands left free to bring additional hair strands into the braid and without handling clips or combs to maintain the braid formation. The Hair Braiding Device makes braiding simple even for a young child. Also, if for any reason, the braider must stop and leave the braid during the braiding operation, the formed braid will not fall apart but remains together and tight until braiding is resumed. The Hair Braiding Device acts as a third hand to separate unbraided hair strands while keeping them untangled and to hold the braided strands together.
It is an object of the invention to provide a simple, hand held, hair braiding device that will aid users of all ages to quickly and easily produce a basic three strand braid, a French braid, a fishtail braid and a rope braid for another person or for oneself.
It is another object of the invention to provide a hair braiding device where the braider can stop at any time before completion of the braid when the device is in place and the braid will remain tight and intact.
Further, it is an object of the invention to provide a hair braiding device that tightens the braid as the braiding process proceeds, keeps the hair strands separate and untangled and does not painfully pull the hair as it is braided.
Finally, it is an object of the invention to provide an economical hair braiding device for use by professional hairdressers and individuals where the device can be used on another person or on the person doing the braiding.